This brief published by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) provides information about the development of fast-screening drug tests.
Scientists at West Virginia University, with funding assistance from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), have developed quick, easy, and accurate drug tests. Dr. Luis Arroyo, associate professor in the Department of Forensic and Investigative Science at West Virginia University, proposed to test the use of powerful electrochemical techniques to detect emerging drugs, such as fentanyl and novel psychoactive substances. Dr. Arroyo’s team confirmed their findings using Raman spectroscopy, a non-destructive technique that reveals the structural fingerprint of an unknown substance. They propose that using these methods in tandem could improve current drug screening procedures. The West Virginia University team sought more informative and cost-effective drug testing techniques, consistent with current forensic laboratory guidelines, which could potentially be used on site and in the field. First, they detected controlled substances using screen-printed carbon electrodes. These inexpensive electrodes use electrical conductivity to assess the presence of a drug and identify it. The researchers also evaluated the usefulness of portable Raman spectroscopy for drug identification. Then they assessed and validated combined data from the electrochemical sensors and Raman methods to better understand their usefulness.